Bottle uncaser



Deg. 22, 1959 Filed Oct. 6, 1955 J. L. GIBSON BOTTLE UNCASER 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVEN TOR. JflHEs L. 4/550 km 71,5614 elm J. L. GIBSON BOTTLE UNCASER Dec. 22, 1959 r 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Oct. 6, 1955 ISM WWW

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INVENTOR. JHWA: 1.. 6 01V myzxfl I CLLLI/ United States Patent This invention relates to a bottle uncaser, and isparticularly useful. in the removal of' bottles from a full depth case as well as from cases of different depths.

An object of the inventionis to provide uncaser apparatus :of novel constructionby which all of the bottles .ofia case can be quickly and effectively grasped and removed. A further object is to provide a bottle un caser structure in which inner and outer frames cooperate inbringing about an effective gripping of individual bot- .t-les carried within a case for the removal simultaneously of .all of the bottles. A further object is to provide in such a structure improved gripperfinger means floatingly mounted in said frame structure while also being adjustable lengthwise and crosswise. A still further object is to -provide a full depth uncaser structure in which pressure fluid means is employed for operating a frame within another frame to bring about simultaneously opening of gripper fingers for engagement with bottles, while at the same time providing new and novel means for. mounting the. gripper fingers within the. inner frame. Other specific objects and advantages will appear. as the specification proceeds.

. The invention is shown, in an illustrative embodiment, by the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a sideview in elevation of'bottle gripper apparatus embodying my invention; Fig. 2, an end view; Fig. 3, an enlarged sectional detail view, the section being taken as indicated at line 3-3 of Fig. 2; Fig. 4, an enlarged sectional detail view, the section being taken as. indicated at line 4-4 of Fig. 1; Fig. 5, an enlarged detail sectional view, the section being taken as indicated at'line 5-5 of .Fig. 2; and Fig. 6, a bottom plan view of a portion of one row of the gripper members employed.

In the illustration given, A designates an outer frame andB designates an inner frame. The outer frame member A comprises side frame members which are united and held together by a platen 11. Each of the side frames members 10 carries on its inner side a roller track 12, and at its lower'end the member 10 is provided with an inwardly-extending flange 13. Bolted to the lower flange 13 is a clamping block.14 which is spaced from a; lower clamping block 15. These blocks may be adjusted lengthwise from the frame 10 on flange 13. Bolts 16 extend through the flange 13 and clamping blocks 14 and 15, and the bolts 16 are provided at their threaded ends with nuts 17 and 18. The clamping blocks 14 and are apertured along their inner facing surfaces to re ceive the transverse bars .19 for supporting therebetween the mounting brackets of the gripper'members.

Transverse bolts 15a, as shownbest in Figs. 2 and 5, extend between pairs of bars 19 soas to maintain the bars-tightly in engagement with the mounting brackets 20. Upon loosening of the bolts, the mounting brackets 20 may be adjusted slightly lengthwise of. the bars 19, as will be seen from an examination. of Fig. 2. With the bolts 15a arepreferably employed. a1spacer 22 and end members 23 and 24, the tightening being accomplished b yttlie nuts 25 (best seen in Fig... 5.)

Within each mounting bracket 20 .I provide a pair of floating fingers 26 and 27. The finger 26 is slidably mounted within the mounting bracketsi20 and is provided at its upper end with a crosspin 28 to maintain the grip fingers above the mounting bracket 20. The finger 27 is pivotally mounted upon the sliding finger 26 by means of the pivot pin 29, and each of the-fingers 26 and 27 are provided at their lower ends with enlarged gripping surfaces. The finger 26 is provided at its. lower end with a large stationary grip or jaw 30 having at its bottom end an outwardly-fiaredlip 31, while the hinged finger 27 is provided at. its lower end. with an enlarged grip or jaw 32 having a flared lip 33. The grip 32 therefore is the movable grip which moves away from and toward the grip 30.

A compression spring 34 is supported between the lower flange of the mounting bracket 20 and the upper shoulders of the grips 30 and 32, the spring normally urging the fingers 26 and 27 downwardly but permitting upward movement of. the fingers should they strike an obstruction, etc. and thus avoiding injury to bottles should they become misplaced or disarranged. The movable jaw 32 is normally urged toward the jaw 30 by a spring 35, as shown in Figs. 3 and 4.

.I employ an inner frame B for actuating the movable finger 27, and such inner frame B will now be described.

The inner movable casing B is equipped with side walls 36 and 37 and secured to the side walls are roller shafts 38, upon which are mounted rollers 39. The rollers rest upon the track 17, as shown best in Figs. 1 and 2.

Actuating rods 40 are secured in spaced relation in the lower part of the side walls 36 and 37. The rods 40 are provided at their ends with reduced portions 41 which extend through elongated adjustment slots 42 within the side Walls '36 and 37 andare confined in position by nuts 43 engaging the outer threaded ends 41. By this structure, the actuating rods are adjustable lengthwise of the inner frame B. The actuating rods 40 engage the upper end of the pivotally mounted gripping finger 27, as illustrated best in Fig. 3, and as the frame B moves forwardly, the upper end of the finger 27 is moved forwardly to open the lower gripping jaw 32 of. each pair of fingers.

Any suitable means for reciprocating the inner frame B may be employed. In the illustration given, I provide a compressed air cylinder 44, in which is mounted a piston connected to an actuating stem 45. The stem 45 is fixed to a transverse rod 46, which rod, in turn, is fixed at its ends to the side walls 36 and 37 by nuts 47. The con1- pressed air cylinder 44 is a double-acting cylinder equipped with air inlets 49, and suitable valve means (not shown) are provided for reciprocating the piston within cylinder 44 for the actuation of the stem 45 in a forward and rearward direction, thus producing a forward and backward movement of the actuating rods 40 and simultaneously the opening or closing of the jaws 32.

Operation In the operation of the gripper structure, the cylinder 44 is set into operation for the reciprocation of the piston therein and the piston stem 45 produces a forward and backward movement of the inner frame B. The rods 40 carried in spaced relation on the inner frame B simultaneously engage the upper ends of the pivoted fingers 27 so as to open the grips 32, thus permitting the structure to be brought into engagement with the necks of bottles mounted in a case. In this operation, the lower inclined lips 31 and 33, which are in effect floatingly mounted within the mountings 20, enable the grips 30 and 32 to accommodate themselves to the bottle necks and to receive the same. As the inner casing recedes, the spring member 35 moves the finger 27 and the lower gripper jaw 32 3 back to the gripping position shown in Fig. 3 so as to retain the bottle neck tightly within the gripper. The entire uncaser is then moved by means not shown to lift all of the bottles out of the case and to deposit them on a moving conveyor or platen, etc., and for'such release movement the inner frame is again moved forward to open the jaws 32.

Should the actuating rods 40 require lateral shifting, the adjustment of these can be made within the slots 42, and should the mounting brackets 20 also require shifting, the shifting can be accomplished by loosening the bolts 16 and shifting the entire bars 19 or, upon loosening the bolts a, shifting the brackets 20 individually between the bars. By providing the inner and outer frames as described, the adjustment of the gripper members and their actuating rods can be effected readily so as to adapt the gripping apparatus to cases of bottles even where there is a slight variation in the size of cases and in the size or shape of bottles, etc.

The outwardly-flared lip portion 31 on the finger 26 and the outwardly-flared lip 33 on'the gripping jaw 32 of hinged finger 27 are shown best in Figs. 3 and 6. It will be noted that the surfaces of lips 31 and 33 form together a cloverleaf design, and when two adjacent gripper members are brought together, as illustrated best in Fig. 3, the lip portion 31 lying adjacent the lip portion 33 of the next gripping device forms a ball-like structure having a rounded lower contour. The result is that the entire lower surface of the fingers provides in effect a series of balls having inclined surfaces which tip the upper neck of the bottle into the center opening or cavity between the members 31 and 33. In other words, the combined grippers present at their bottom a cam structure, giving a wedging action and driving the bottles into tilted positions in which they align themselves with the apertures between the two lips 31 and 33. In other words, the present grippers are unique in that they provide ball-like areas along the bottom of the gripping device which deflect any bottles which are slightly out of line toward the center opening between the lips 31 and 33 so that at no point does the gripper strike and break a bottle, but instead, any bottle out of line meets an inclined cam or ball-like bottom portion of the gripping devices and is deflected toward the opening between the lips 31 and 33 where it will be engaged when the hinged finger 27 is operated for the gripping action.

While, in the foregoing specification, I have set forth a specific structure in considerable detail for the purpose of illustrating an embodiment of the invention, it will be understood that such details of structure may be varied widely by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of my invention.

I claim:

1. In a bottle uncaser, an outer frame, supporting bars mounted on said outer frame, finger-mounting brackets mounted on said bars, a pair of fingers mounted for sliding movement within each bracket, one of said fingers being pivotally secured to the other and movable with respect thereto, said fingers being provided at their lower ends with gripping jaws, spring means on said fingers extending between the lower side of each bracket and the I upper side of the gripping jaws of the fingers mounted in said bracket to urge said fingers downwardly, means on each pair of fingers engageable with the bracket supporting the same for limiting the downward movement of said pair of fingers, means movably mounted on said outer frame and engageable with each pair of fingers for moving the jaws thereof, and means on said outer frame for reciprocating the movably mounted means.

2. The structure of claim 1 in which said bars are arranged in pairs and are positionably secured on said outer frame for transverse adjustment therein, each bracket being positionably supported by each bar of a pair of bars for horizontal adjustment thereon perpendicular to the transverse adjustment of said bars in said frame.

aaraaes 3. In a bottle uncaser, an outer frame having an inwardly-turned bottom fiangeand a track mounted on said frame above said flange, a plurality of parallel bars mounted on said frame below said flange, clamping means on said flange for slidably anchoring said bars to said flange, finger mounts mounted on pairs of said bars, a pair of pivotally connected clamping fingers vertically, slidably mounted within said mounts and provided at their lower ends with gripper jaws, means on said clamping fingers limiting the downward vertical movement thereof in said mounts, said fingers being pivotally interconnected to permit opening and closing of said jaws, an inner frame equipped with rollers mounted on said track,

means for reciprocating said inner frame, and spaced rods carried by said inner frame and engageable with one of said fingers.

4. In a bottle uncaser, an outer frame having an in wardly-turned bottom flange and a track mounted on said frame above said flange, a plurality of parallel bars mounted on said frame below said flange, clamping means on said flange for slidably anchoring said bars to said flange, finger mounts mounted on pairs of said bars, a pair of clamping fingers vertically, slidably mounted within each finger mount and provided at their lower ends with gripper jaws, means on said clamping fingers limiting the downward vertical movement thereof in said mounts, said fingers being pivotally interconnected to permit opening and closing of said jaws, an inner frame equipped with rollers mounted on said track, means for reciprocating said inner frame, and spaced rods carried by said inner frame and engageable with one finger of each pair of fingers, said fingers being equipped with springs operative to urge said fingers toward closed positions, said fingersbeing moved to open position by engagement with said rods.

5. In a bottle uncaser, an outer frame having an inwardly-turnedbottom flange and a track mounted on said frame above said flange,-a plurality of parallel bars mounted on said frame below said flange, clamping means on said flange for slidably anchoring said bars to said flange, finger mounts mounted on pairs of said bars, a pair of clamping fingers vertically, slidably mounted within each of said mounts and provided at their lower ends with gripper jaws, means on said clamping fingers limiting the downward vertical movement thereof in said mounts, said fingers being pivotally interconnected to permit opening and closing of said jaws, an inner frame equipped with rollers mounted on said track, means for reciprocating said inner frame, and spaced rods carried by said inner frame and engageable with one finger of each pair of fingers, said fingers being equipped with spring means operative to normally urge said fingers downwardly a distance limited by said limiting means.

6. In a bottle uncaser, a generally rectangular, horizontally-disposed outer frame having a bottom flange on two opposite sides and a track on each of the two opposite sides above the flange thereof, a plurality of parallel bars mounted on the flanges and extending transversely of the said two opposite sides, clamping means on said flange for slidably anchoring said bars upon said flanges, finger mounts mounted on pairs of said bars, a pair of pivotally connected clamping fingers vertically slidable within each of said mounts and provided at their lower ends with gripper jaws, said fingers being pivotally connected together to permit opening and closing of said jaws, an inner frame reciprocably mounted upon said tracks, means for reciprocating said inner frame, and spaced rods carried by said inner frame and engageable with one finger of each pair of fingers for actuating the same.

7. In a bottle uncaser, a generally horizontal support frame, a plurality of grippers supported in said frame and extending downwardly therefrom, means in said 'frame for adjustably positioning said grippers in lengthwise and crosswise directions in said frame, said grippers each consisting of two fingers pivoted to each otherand equipped with first spring means urging said fingers together, second spring means on said fingers urging said fingers downwardly but permitting vertical movement of said fingers relative to said frame, each of said grippers being equipped with an upwardly-extending free end movable to pivot said fingers relative to each other, a second frame reciprocably mounted inside said support frame and equipped with transverse bars adapted to contact said upper free ends so as to open all of the grippers simultaneously through movement of the second frame within the support frame, and fluid pressure-operated means carried by said support frame for actuating said second frame.

8. In a bottle uncaser, an outer frame, supporting bars mounted on said outer frame, finger mounting brackets mounted on said bars, a pair of fingers mounted for sliding movement within each bracket, one of the fingers in each pair of fingers being pivotally secured to the other and movable relative thereto, said fingers being provided at their lower ends with gripping jaws, the jaws of said fingers'having downwardly and outwardly curved lip por tions with a lip of one pair of jaws lying closely adjacent to a lip of another pair of jaws to form therewith a continuous arcuate ball-like surface for deflecting bottle necks toward one or the other of the pairs of jaws, spring means on each pair of fingers for urging the pair of fingers downwardly, means on each pair of fingers limiting the downward movement thereof in its bracket, means movably mounted on said outer frame and engageable with one finger of each pair of fingers for moving the jaws thereof, and means on said outer frame for reciprocating the movably mounted means.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Ardell Sept. 2, 1952 Ballato et al. May 25, 1954 Rockcastle July 5, 1955 

